Removable foot protector for shoes



Sept. 9, 1930. .1. w. NOBLE, JR

' I REMOVABLE FOOT PROTECTOR FOR SHOES Filed April 24, 1928 INVENTOR \fow/v A2515, fa $20M ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 9 1930 I Jorm w. NOBLE,-JR., or YonKnns, new YORK nnMovABLE room rno'rncroa non SHOES A pn aaoamea April 24, 1928. Serial No. 272,406.

The present invention has particular. reference to metal foot protectors which may be inserted in or removed from the shoes of workmen orothers who are engaged in work in places where they are likely to sustain foot injuries by reason of some outside or foreign nail or other sharp instrument penetrating through a shoe and into a foot. lit is a well known. fact that workmen engaged in erecting or demolishing a building frequently sustain foot injuries, more or less serious and sometimes resulting in death, as they go about the building, inasmuch as there are always more or less loose nails and sharp pieces of metal, etc, lying about on the floors and elsewhere, and sometimes penetrable objects of various sorts project where there is a possibility of their being suddenly trod or stepped. upon. The records of insurance companies and others show that accidents from such causes constitute a high percentage of the accidents to Which workmen are subject.

Many kindsof removable insoles have been patented but in noneof them does there ap pearto have been any special consideration of accidents caused in the way mentioned, as all of such devices are either too frail, too thin,

and too incomplete and unsafe, and inmany cases have openings produced by holes or slits which invite a penetration at the very points where they occur. In other words such previous insoles are not properly constructed to avoid the accidents from the sources referred to, and for that reason they do not avoid them.

llherefore, the principal object of this in vention is to provide removable 'foot protectors for insertion in workinens shoes, each such protector being oversize, that is it has transverse dimensions which are greater than those of the insole of the shoe in which it is to be inserted, such protector being composed of a suitably hard and thick plate of metal andbeing preferably imperforate, and preferably having a longitudinal laterally projecting guard portion extending outwardly and upwardly from that side which corresponds with the instep of the foot. When it is possible for workmen to supply themselves with such foot protectors. the rates ofaccioent lnsurance should be lower.

With these andother objects 1n view, the i ivention consists of certain novel features to be hereinafter described and then claimed, with reference to the accompanylng drawings illustrationg two embodiments of the invent-ion,inwhich: j j j Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of one form of "the foot'protector shown in a shoe,

indicated in broken lines; Fig. 2 a plan view of the same form of protector, the outline of the sizeof theinsole of the shoe being indicated in broken lines; Fig. 3 is a similarviewof another form of protector Fig. 4 is a section thereof on line i -4, 3,and"' Fig. 5 is crosssection onthe line 5, i Fi .2, it i m j The protector, Figs. 1, 2 and5, mainly comprises an imperforate metal plate 6inc1uding a sole portiozii', a waist portion 8 and a heel portion 9. f This plate is oversize as compared with theoutline 10 ofthe insole of the shoe intowhich it is to beinserted, and ismade in a right and a left so as to go into each shoe of the pair.

Phosphor-bronze is the metal preferably used for plate 6, as that is a very-hard and tough metal, although other suitably: hard metals may be employed. Experiments show that when phosphor bronze is used it may best have athickness of No. 20 gauge of sheet metal. V,

A longitudinal lateral guard portion 11 extends outwardly andupwardly from that stocking of the wearer does not come directly in contact with metal, and it may consist of various materials, such as felt, leather, cork or the like. The size of the lining 12 is the same as that of the metal plate 6, so that the edge of the metal will contact with the inside of the shoe, and as the edge of the metal will project beyond the edge of the insole of the shoe which is indicated by the dotted line 10, the foot will be fully protected against penetration.

A workman supplied with a pair of these oversize foot protectors made for the size of shoe he wears (possibly a size larger than usual) crowds them into his shoes until they rest upon the insole of the shoes. The edges of the protector will extend more or less beyond the outlines of the insole of the shoe so as to substantially yet fully cover the sole of the foot, and inasmuch as the metal plate is sufiiciently hard and thick, the foot is protected by the armor beneath it, from being penetrated or injured by any foreign nail or other penetrating instrument which may have penetrated the shoe, even through the sole. Sometimes a workman will step with considerable pressure upon a penetrating ob ject, or even jump down a few feet upon it, but the described metal plate will. act to ward ofi or turn back the point or edge of such an object which may come in contact with it, the same acting as an anvil. The part of the shod foot most exposed to possible penetration is the instep, but the protector of the present invention specially takes care of the instep, through employment of the instep guard 11.

Another form of the invention is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, wherein the metal plate 13 is short, it terminating at the heel, because in some cases it may not be necessary to extend it over the heel of the shoe. A guard portion 14 for the instep is also formed on the metal plate 13. The insole is represented by the dotted line 15.

In this form, the metal plate 13 is also provided with a soft lining 16 united therewith, and which however has a heel portion 17 which extends beyond the rear edge of the metal plate, so that the heel of the foot will be more comfortable. In order to anchor this short metal plate 13 and prevent it from crawling back into the shoe of the wearer, the rear end of the plate may have aslight, pointed, prong 18 which may be pushed down into the sole.

The making of the metal plate oversize, as stated, as compared with the insole of the J shoe, on which the foot protector rests, has

been found in practice to be quite important. It has been found that if this is not the case, and if penetration of the edge of the outer sole happens as is likely, the edge of the foot within the shoe which usually presses out and extends beyond the edge of the insole will be penetrated and thus injure the foot.

WVhat I claim as new, is:

As an article of manufacture, a removable foot protector for shoes, con'iprising a metal plate of the general outline of a foot forward of the heel, such plate being oversize as compared with the transverse dimensions of the insole of a shoe into which it is to be inserted removably, and the metal having a hardness and thickness such that a foreign nail or the like which may have penetrated through the shoe due to the pressure of a workmans foot is resisted and is prevented from puncturing the plate and injuring the foot, the plate terminating at the heel, and means at the rear end of such plate for holding the plate in a position forward of the heel.

JOHN WV. NOBLE, JR. 

